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LATROBE, Pennsylvania — Steelers fans who crammed into Chuck Noll Field on Sunday were treated to the best of the four practices during Pittsburgh’s first week of training camp. It was also the best practice so far for Kenny Pickett, who is expected to take a significant jump during his first full season as the team’s starting quarterback.
Pickett was on the money early. After not being able to connect with Pat Freiermuth on the first play of Seven Shots (a seven-play drill between the offense and defense from the two-yard-line), Pickett hit George Pickens for a wide open touchdown (there appeared to be a miscommunication on the play between Joey Porter Jr. and Chandon Sullivan) to tie things up. The offense took the lead one play later when Pickett hit tight end Zach Gentry on the far side.
Pickett continued to look for his tight ends on the following play. He and Freiermuth hooked up for a score — against the second-team defense — as the offense took a commanding 3-1 lead. The defense, though, came back to win the drill after Pickett exited following his touchdown pass to Freiermuth.
The sun — which beat down on the field throughout practice — continued to shine on Pickett and the starting offense during the next phase of practice. Pickett evaded pressure before hitting Diontae Johnson, who then displayed some nifty running after the catch. Moments later, Pickett unleashed a wicked pump that was bought hook, line and sinker by rookie cornerback Cory Trice Jr., who was guarding Pickens on the near side. The pump fake led to an easy completion.
Pickett wasn’t done testing Trice, who one day earlier came up with two big plays to…
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